TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- I made reservations for 4 rooms through Hotels.com on 3/27/12 for our trip to the Caribbean July 2 through the 12, 2012. We were leaving from Tulsa International Airport so we decided to arrive to TUL the day before departure so we can explore the city. We booked our hotel rooms using the website and selected the Tulsa Airport East Hotel & Conference Center due to the proximity to the airport and based on the pictures displayed on the website.

To our surprise, on the day we arrived there, we come to find out that the hotel had changed ownership and names. It was now a Motel 6. We never received any information/messages/emails from Hotels.com to inform us of the changes. The hotel did not look anything like the pictures online and it was old, in disrepair, and dirty. We checked in the motel because we were tired and wanted to start our trip on a good note. However, as we entered the rooms assigned to us we noticed a very disgusting smell in the room. I approached the housekeeping attendants that were working the room next to ours and asked them to check the room.

The housekeeper walked into the room and said that the smell was mold and that there was nothing she could do about it. I went to the front desk and asked for another room... meantime our friends were settling down in their room. After getting another room I noticed that the A.C. unit was not working properly. We decided to go and eat and then come back and deal with that. At the time we came back to the hotel we notice that the A.C. system was not working in the hallways nor lobby. A myriad of small fans were brought in to circulate the air in the affected areas.

The hotel began to get hot and smell really bad. We thought to ourselves that we were just there for one night and we would stay and make the best of it. Around 5 pm we noticed the kind of people checking in the hotel: drug dealers, prostitutes, drifters, etc... We walk into the main hallway and noticed the smell of pot, cigarettes and what I know it was meth. There were drunk people stumbling in the hallway and very strange individuals rushings into some of the rooms with prostitutes. That was it for us!

We packed out belongings, called Hotels.com and told them what had occurred from the hotel ownership change, the physical state of the hotel, the non functioning A.C. system, and the people checking in. It was a very difficult call because that Hotels.com Customer Service calling center is somewhere overseas where English is not the first language. We could hardly understand the representative on the phone. After almost an hour on the phone we finally got Hotels.com to cancel all of our reservations (we were coming back to the USA on the night of the 11th of July and staying in the same hotel again) and requested a refund.

They canceled our reservations, sent us cancellation emails, and promised us a refund for all nights/rooms reserved. It has been almost a month and the refund has not been made!!! Every time I call nobody can tell me what is going on and the reservation & cancellation numbers they gave us are invalid. On our own we found a nice Holiday Inn Express a few miles away and decided to change hotels. We are very disappointed with Hotels.com and intend to never use their website again.

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Everything Was Perfect

- 03/04/2011

Yes, I did the unthinkable. I made a booking through a third-party site - Hotels.com. Since we hear so many bad things about these businesses, I thought I would pass on some kudos for a change. A couple of months ago, two friends and I were looking for a place to stay in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We decided to take a chance with Hotels.com because we found some fantastic savings. As it turns out, it wasn't too good to be true!

We chose the RatiLanna Resort and Spa, a five-star hotel, for $105/night, for 4 nights. Hotels.com confirmed our choice and sent a confirmation for the room(s) - three of them - immediately. I would like to add that we all made our reservations separately with Hotel.com. Yes, we took a chance on not getting a refund if we had to cancel, but we decided to go for it. We made sure to read the fine print, which I think is key to these type of bookings.

The hotel turned out to be beautiful and the hotel gave us rooms next to each other on the top floor (4th). Everything Hotel.com said on its website about this hotel was true. The price included breakfast for 2 which was a nice breakfast buffet, which also included an omelet station. The rooms were absolutely gorgeous and the bath had a huge soaking tub with a waterfall feature in an area next to the tub and also a separate shower. We had a nice view from the balcony too.

I would also like to add that after we made the reservation with Hotels.com, I called the hotel directly to add some requests to our reservation such as the airport shuttle and king beds. It was an all no-smoking hotel too, as I found when I called. I guess the moral of this story is that if you have a vacation coming up and are certain you are going, you may find some fantastic deals. I noticed that you could get most of your money back if you cancelled before 7 days before your trip, but some hotels did not allow this. (Ours didn't.)

In our case, taking a chance paid off. Just be sure to always read the fine print so you know of any risks you may be taking. They also said if you found a cheaper deal, they would refund the difference. I never did. :)

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Hotels.com Faulty Booking System and Incompetent Customer Service

By Jameswtaylor - 04/09/2012

Rating: 1/51

LONDON -- In September 2011 I tried to book a hotel in Paris. Using Hotels.com I got to the final stage of a booking (name, address, email address, credit card numbered entered and check for terms and conditions) but when I clicked confirm nothing happened, my browser just kept waiting for the site to respond (I tested the Internet connection for another site, which was OK). I left my booking waiting for around 15 minutes but nothing happened. I did not receive any confirmation email.

I was concerned about this because I had got to the final stage of the booking and had provided my credit card details. The next day I telephoned Hotels.com to find out the status of my booking and I was told by the agent that it had not gone through. She apologized to me and she even persisted to try to find me another hotel, which I declined. I found and booked directly with another hotel and enjoyed a wonderful autumn weekend in Paris.

At the end of the month I received my credit card bill and noticed that I had been charged by the hotel that I had originally tried to book through Hotels.com (not only for one room as I had originally requested but for two rooms!). I contacted the hotel and was told that they had received a booking from venera.com, which I requested a copy of. Sure enough, there were clearly two bookings made for two nights each in my name from venere.com and the hotel had charged me the full price because I did not show up and did not cancel the reservation.

I was a bit confused at first because I had made the booking through Hotels.com, but I discovered that venere.com is owned by Hotels.com (which in turn is owned by Expedia group). Because I was dealing with one of the biggest online booking sites, I thought that this would not be too difficult to fix, but that has not been the case. First of all they could not find my booking, then the booking mysteriously appeared and they tried to get me to take this up with the hotel (who have not done anything wrong).

Then they admitted a faulty system and directed me to head office in America (via a fax number) where I have been practically ignored (I did receive one message four weeks ago telling me they were dealing with this and it would be completed in 72 hours at least this confirmed I had the correct fax number!). Each of these steps involved dozens of phone calls and emails and has taken almost six months with considerable persistence and patience. I continue to email, call and fax but keep going around in circles.

The reason why I am writing to you is to share my story with you and ask if you have any advice for me to get this resolved? Hotels.com have displayed incompetence with their booking system and their customer service. Although this is not a huge amount of money (320 Euros) I am angry at how poor their booking system and customer service is. I feel I should fight this not just for my sake but for other potential victims of their booking system problems.

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Meaningless Confirmation

By Scott - 07/09/2010

I had a bad experience with Hotels.com/Expedia (same company) over the 4th of July weekend. We were on a spontaneous road trip and hadn't booked any rooms in advance. After visiting Mt. Rushmore on July 3rd, we began looking for a room in town. Of course, all of the local hotels had jacked their rates up to ridiculous amounts, so I called Hotels.com and let them know that we'd be happy to drive as far as Deadwood, SD if they could locate a reasonably priced room there for us.

The man on the phone (he said his name was **, but if you've dealt with them before you know that anyone who answers a phone is on a different continent and probably makes up an "American sounding" name) said he had found us a room at at the Americinn at Cadillac Jack's Gaming Resort in Deadwood. The price was fair, so I asked him to book it and we started driving there. We arrived at the hotel less than an hour after the call to Hotels.com was made and were told that they had no reservation for us.

The woman working behind the front counter that night told me that not only did she not have a reservation for us in the system, but that nobody had even called to confirm a reservation in the last hour and that the place had been sold out for weeks. Apparently the confirmation number that they had emailed me was completely meaningless. They did make it a point to charge my credit card though... I called Hotels.com to find out what the problem was and after having to wait almost 10 minutes just to speak to a real person, I was placed on hold again so that the customer service agent could call the hotel.

I was standing at the front desk of the hotel during all of this because the woman working there was calling around to other hotels in the area to see if she could find a room for us. After being on hold for another five minutes, the phone at the hotel desk finally rang and it was the person from Hotels. She must have taken a break between the time she put me on hold and the time she actually made her call to the hotel.

The call lasted only a few seconds and then it was several more minutes before she came back on the line to tell me that the hotel was full and that they could either offer me a refund or try to locate another room in the area and apply the balance that they had already charged me towards it. I asked her to look into the latter which turned out to be a huge mistake because she put me on hold and never came back (I waited almost 30 minutes before hanging up). Fortunately, the woman at the front desk had found us a room at a hotel one town over in Leed, SD and we went on our way.

I hadn't budgeted for having to pay for two hotel rooms that night, so I was very relieved when the new charge cleared my credit card. I was very angry that Hotels.com could have just as easily left us stranded and sleeping in my vehicle that night without so much as even an insincere apology. I contacted Hotels.com a couple days after getting home from our trip to inquire about a refund. After waiting quite a while to speak to a person again, I was asked what the name was of the person working at the front desk that night so that they could speak to her and confirm that we were actually there.

Again, I was placed on hold for a ridiculous amount of time while the customer service person contacted the hotel. After that, she came back on the line to inform me that the person I named wasn't there when she called and that they had no record of me checking in. I had to explain to her a second time that we didn't check in because we didn't have a room to check in to and that was why I wanted a refund... She told me that she would need a manager's approval to give me a refund and placed me on hold for another 15 minutes or so.

When she came back on the line, she told me that I would be refunded the price of the room within 24 hours and thanked me for doing business with Hotels.com. Still no apology or any sort of offer to make it up to me. Before she could hang up, I asked her to please explain to me what had happened. The first thing she said was that it was my fault because we showed up to the hotel late... I told her that we were there before 10pm and less than an hour after they booked our room there. Then she told me that it was the hotel's fault for not informing them that they had no rooms...

I told her that they never even called to confirm my reservation, so the hotel was never given the opportunity to tell them that they had no rooms. Then she said that it was a "combination of those two" events/excuses and at that point I just let it go since it was clear that they weren't going to take any responsibility for what had happened. How's that for customer service?

I will never do business with Hotels.com/Expedia (same company) again and I hope that anyone who reads this will either find a different company to book their hotel rooms through or at the very least be extremely cautious when dealing with them. They may be able to save you a few dollars, but when it comes to hotel reservations, being confident that you will actually have a room when you show up is worth far more than anything they have to offer.

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Did Not Honor Promise of $100 Credit

By Eric - 07/28/2014

Rating: 1/51

TEXAS -- I booked a hotel and received my confirmation. A short while later Hotels.com asks me to contact them. When I call the number they inform me that their had been a miscommunication and the hotel I wanted was booked. The reservationist then tries to find another hotel and twice she said the hotel she was trying to book for me was filled while we were on the phone. Finally she found an opening at the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, SC. The cost was an additional $60.

The representative told me that because of all the trouble they were issuing me a $100 credit good towards my next booking. There was nothing I needed to do everything would be associated to my email address. Today, I attempt to book and use my $100 credit and after being on hold for twenty minutes, and being told several times they are confirming that the hotel can accept the voucher, they then tell me they cannot help me and they will transfer me to customer service. They then cannot transfer me but give me the 800 number to call.

I reach the agent at customer service who then tells me there is no record of my canceled booking. I tell her that cannot be right, what about phone records, the email that was sent to me, the person I spoke to last week, all of that cannot be random. "I am sorry, is there anything else I can help you with before I let you go?" Wow, really, that's it, you are an international travel site and you have not records of email or phone calls?!? They're worse customer service! Broken promises. Luckily there are other options and I have and will continue to use them instead of Hotels.com.

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Hotels.com? What a Shame!!!

By The - 04/30/2012

Rating: 1/51

I'm writing because I have to complain about the treatment I was served by Hotels.com. Last September, I was in the US with my wife for our honeymoon. We made an "on the road" trip, so every day we did book a hotel for the night. I used the Hotels.com website only once, but it was enough. During the online booking process, the browser crashed, so I didn't get any confirmation of the reservation in progress. I thought that since I was using my wife's credit card to make the reservation in my name, the crash was due to a "mismatch" between my name and the name of the cardholder. So I made another reservation with my wife's name and it worked.

After a couple of months, I realized that Hotels.com charged my wife's credit card the price for two reservations. After thousand and thousand emails, I gave up. The hotel did not refund anything, because they claim that they get the payment directly from the Hotels.com credit card and not from the customer's credit card. So eventually, they could refund the Hotels.com, but what about Hotels.com? Will they refund me? Hotels.com, on the other hand, claims that two reservations were made with two different names, so they do not refund anything.

The American bank (linked to my "italian" bank) agreed with Hotels.com, so I had to pay twice what I used only once! There was no way to get my money back. I can demonstrate what I state, because I have a lot of emails between me, the bank, the hotel and the customer service. I also have an email from the hotel (Holiday Inn Express - Green River, UT) where they state that, in fact, they got two reservation but only one room was really claimed at the front desk. And this was what I tried to explain so many times to the Customer Service of Hotels.com, but the only result I got was that I have lost $130 for a room I never claimed.

At the end of the day, everybody involved in this issue was so stubborn that I didn't manage to get my money back. Never mind, I still can pay my bills, even with $130 less in my bank account, but you can be sure that I will never use the Hotels.com again!

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Inflexible and Poor Customer Service

By Susan - 03/04/2012

Rating: 1/51

UNSURE -- While booking our reservation and trying to use a promo code (rebates12 for $30 rebate off 5 night stay), the online screens were very confusing and it wasn't apparent where to put the promo code until the entire reservation was completed and promo code wasn't entered. I immediately called Hotels.com to explain the situation and ask for the promo code to be entered on my behalf. The first call, I was disconnected so I emailed. Customer service said they couldn't anything for me.

I then called customer service again and was on the phone for at least 30 minutes re-explaining the situation to another customer service representative. They again said they couldn't do anything for me. I asked to speak to a supervisor/manager. As they transferred me, they disconnected our call. I then called back, and ask to be transferred to the supervisor, but they said they couldn't since they didn't have extensions so I had to explain the situation all over again to another customer service person and then was transferred to their supervisor.

The supervisor again said there wasn't anything they could do so I asked to be transferred to a manager and I was told the supervisor couldn't do that as he was the highest level in customer service for me to speak with. I explained that I had never used Hotels.com to book a hotel and I wanted to stay as a customer, but I won't if they can't resolve this issue. I can't believe that the company wouldn't have some way to apply $30 to my account especially since the online screens were confusing and I contacted them as soon as it happened.

Beyond disappointed and I will never use them again. I will also tell as many people as I can to stay far away from them. They should not be in this type of business.

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Did Not Relay Payment Information To Hotel Poor Customer Service

By JULIE - 01/14/2012

I reserved a room with hotels.com which is in partnership with Expedia. I became ill so my ex sister-in-law took the room. The room was for my niece and I contacted the hotel and it was fine that I wasn't there. Unknown to me because I don't speak with her often when she arrive everything was fine, but upon checkout she was chased down a hallway and was told the room was not paid for and had to be put on her credit card. Again we don't speak often unless it has something to do with the kids. I contacted her this week to find out about on of the children and she mention "I thought you paid for the room because they came down the hall after me to pay so I paid it."

I am embarrassed, humiliated, and angry. I have spoke to hotels.com and you speak to a representative in many different countries. One was an Asian country who hung up on me when I asked for a supervisor. The second call who I spoke with ** he stated he understood called the hotel and stated their accounting office was closed. He proceeded to state he would send me a refund. I told him I didn't want the refund I want her to receive the refund on her credit card I had done nothing wrong. I was told Expedia did not send the payment over at the time of the reservation. He stated he would escalate the problem and would send an email the next day.

Well.. I waited two days no email. Called again spoke with ** in Malaysia. She stated it was the hotel's fault and they were closed and they were getting with them tomorrow. I explain to her that is not what I was told and I wanted something done and I wanted in writing. She assured me I would have it in writing in 4 hours and it has been 24 and still nothing. I asked for upper management and I was told they are not allowed to transfer the call or give out that information. This shows the company has no integrity whatsoever. I was promised a $50 credit for what? I deserve a full refund for the trouble, embarrassment this has caused.

She did however show me on their website the home office address but wouldn't give me a phone number. I will contact them on Tuesday.

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Either Their Workers Are Dishonest or the Whole Company Is!!!

By Doc335 - 08/22/2011

BELTON, TX. -- I've used these guys in the past several times, last year, I was charged twice for a room, my bank helped me out with that. Then this past weekend I stayed at a Rodeway Inn in San Antonio, the room was $54 on their site, and I made the purchase over the phone because I was having trouble with my connection, with tax and all it was $69.19, which was taken from my credit card. On the way home, my bank is in a Walmart, so they are open on Sundays, being curious I asked if my transaction with Hotels.com had gone through, and they over charged me $81.12 so about $11.99.

I called to straighten it out, was disconnected twice, put on hold for twenty minutes each time. They tried to tell me that the price of the room was $69 something and tax, and I said, "look not told that by your operator, and bottom line is, when I was told the price would be $69.13 with taxes and everything, then that is what I agreed and authorized." Surely they have no right to steal, which is what they are doing, taking more money than the customer agreed to, or at least inform you that the room was another price. I was not informed from the hotel clerk, and wouldn't had found this out if I didn't ask my bank.

When I argued with these two operators, trying to blame me for their mistake, I asked to speak to their supervisor, put hold another 15 minutes or so. He offered me a voucher for $30 to use the next time I used them, which I feel like, I wasn't treated decent enough for them to expect any more of my business. The supervisor, told me his name was **, he would not give me his last name, or ID number so that I could talk to his supervisor of the CEO of the company. He gave me his last initial O, if that was really it, or even if his name was really **.

Bottom line here is, if they have your credit card information, address and all of that, shouldn't the customer have the right to know who they are talking to, especially when they seem to be lying. When he offered the voucher for $30, I told him I'd rather have my money put back in the bank, all $11.99 of it. He told me they didn't have the money to do that. NOW THAT'S A LIE, but they offer me a $30 voucher. My thoughts is this, either these operators are ripping customers off and putting the money in their pockets, and using the vouchers as (let the company pay for it attitude) or the company is telling these guys to do it, to put money in their pockets....

What ever it is... it's dishonest, and it's stealing.... And I think a class action lawsuit should be filed, actually they should be put out of business. I've used these guys about 15 to 20 times through the years, and as long as they respect my privacy, and my bank account information, and not try to cheat me out of my money, I was fine with them. But until I talk to a CEO and get this straightened out, that voucher don't mean....... to me. I want my money, or decent compensation for my time and trouble.

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HOTELS.COM Is Stealing People's Money..

By tedd925522 - 06/02/2011

I have contacted your company on multiple occasions about receiving my credit (more than 7 times) about a canceled reservation that was 2 weeks out. I canceled minutes after processing the reservation on the website.
But they had listed if you cancel even 1 month away, they charge 1 night penalty. As I write this review I'm on the phone with their reps on Manila. I am documenting all my calls and the people I speak with. I have spoken to your representatives in EL SALVADOR because that's where your company is re-routing the phone calls to.

I WANT THE REST OF MY REFUND ON RESERVATION **. I called back on May 19th for a 5th time and your customer service representative called the Puerta del Sol Hotel and they never received the reservation because it was cancelled right away and ** the administrative person at the Puerta del Sol Hotel in Barranquilla, Colombia agreed to a FULL REFUND. Your customer service person on May 19, stated he would process the REFUND and it would take a few days. I have been checking my credit card for the last 2 WEEKS and there is NO REFUND.

On June 1, I called Hotels.com again and spoke to an ** and she went through the same process, called the Puerta del Hotel which I had already gave her the information and events from the last call on May 19th and she confirmed it all again. PUERTA DEL SOL agreed a REFUND and they hadn't even received any proceeds from the canceled reservation. She promised me a REFUND for a second time and I haven't received anything. I inquired on my previous call and she stated there were NO NOTES on my reservation profile. I asked her to put NOTES again under my reservation but your company is FRAUDULENTLY erasing all notes on the calls.

It has been 3 days and I still have not received a refund and HOTELS.COM is holding my money NOT the HOTEL. I am now going to PRESS legal charges for my REFUND, TIME AND PAIN AND SUFFERING. I have tried to resolve this issue cordially with your company and YOU ARE NOT PROCESSING MY REFUND. Your company is keeping the REFUND in one of your separate accounts and refusing to return my money.. You have left me no choice but to file a lawsuit.